I remember coming across Jim + Henry very early on in my healthy hair journey. I’m not sure when the other products were introduced to the brand but I clearly remember seeing Eight and thinking, wow! That’s the kind of hair care I aspire to own and use! And finally, in 2020, it’s mine…mwahahaha!

I feel very fancy now and you can’t tell me nothing!
On their website, you have a choice of five products and based on the descriptions I’ve read, this is how I’ve interpreted they be used –

• Five – oil (obvs)
• Eight – leave in conditioner (The OG)
• Nine – hair cleanser
• Ten – thicker leave in conditioner/ cream
• Ten Pro – I think this has been added in the last year or so and is Ten but thicc.

If you want more info on how they say you should use them, there’s a handy little guide on their IG story highlights and a new section on their website.

I was excited to try them all but if I wanted to purchase them to just give it a go, it would cost me £58.00/ about $76 for Five, Eight, Nine and Ten. Ten Pro is £23.00 all by itself. Now that does sound a little expensive but you’re getting 500ml of Eight and Ten and 200ml of Five and Nine. But what I like is that you can order a small set of these four products for £14.50. Bargain!

The P&P charge of £6.20 seemed a bit steep until the order I placed just before lunch time on a Friday, arrived just after lunch on Saturday. And if it wasn’t for the pandemic, I probably would have got my order before lunch when the postie used to come. And if you’re in a rush, that kind of service is impressive.

I love the packaging of the products. The brown/ amber jars are so minimalistic and clean looking. They’re plastic, recyclable and refillable if you live in the right parts of the country. Unfortunately, I do not, but I believe they are trying to expand refill locations.

It’s a simple, cruelty free, vegan friendly brand made in The Midlands. And you know exactly what you’re getting in every bottle. If it’s called Five, it only has five ingredients. And anyone that DIYs or pays particular attention to the ingredients can tell that these are quality ingredients that nourish your hair – Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary, Mandarin essential oils etc. And it all smells pretty darn good too, which is very important to me. I usually prefer more fruity, in your face citrus-y scents but I really liked this range’s fragrance as a whole.

So after saving the products for a special Jim + Henry wash day, here’s my initial thoughts:

Five

It smells great. The pipette I like. It’s in the lid so once you’ve figured out how much you need, you can measure it out without fuss i.e. half a pipette full. I decided to pre poo on the 4 cornrows I had had in for the week. I don’t often dry detangle but I used Five on each cornrow and brushed through with my Felicia Leatherwood detangler. It added some “moisture” or more accurately, softness as you can’t really use an oil to moisturise. It also made my hair look so shiny, like a sheen rather than wet and greasy looking. I’ll admit, I didn’t use as much as I normally would when I pre poo because I didn’t want to waste it (and didn’t need to) but the little I used worked wonders.

In fact my hair felt so soft and looked so good, I was considering not washing it…

Nine

Looks just like Five doesn’t it! If you’re someone that does all your hair care in the shower with water in your eyes or while in a rush, beware!

I used small amounts on my scalp. It’s a clear liquid and it wasn’t lathering at all so I assumed it was like a non-lather wash. But a little bit of lather, to me, is a great way of seeing if you’ve covered your full scalp or not. Lack of lather always makes me wonder if a product is doing anything at all. I added a little bit more and also pulled it down my hair strands and I could feel them just getting clean. You know, that slight squeakiness you get when washing your hair.

My hair wasn’t feeling stripped and most importantly for me, it wasn’t causing my hair to tangle, which is my pet peeve with most shampoos. I kept adding more as I realised I was being too stingy to start with and boom! There was the lather. As the bottle says, it’s gentle, so it’s not the big sudsy situation you get with normal shampoo.

You know what? I really liked this one, quite a lot. I’m just not a fan of the pipette for the shampoo/ cleanser as I am with the oil. It’s just a bit fiddly with wet hands. The full size is a pump bottle.

I did notice a new dry patch on my scalp after using this but honestly I think it was too gentle to have been the culprit. I think it’s more likely because I recently stopped oiling my scalp as much and it’s readjusting.

Post-Wash

I followed up Nine with an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse as I’d been reading earlier in the day about re-balancing the hair’s pH and flattening the cuticle before adding moisture. I’m still experimenting with this but I have a new product idea for Jim + Henry. Two (an ACV rinse) – Apple Cider Vinegar and Aloe Vera Juice or Four and add Lemon and Tea Tree essential oils to make it smell nicer.

The final step in the washing part of my wash day was to Deep Condition with the Garnier Ultimate Blends Aloe Vera Hair Food – I prefer Banana and Papaya btw, but that’s what I had open.

Ten

For me, I found Ten a little bit confusing as I sort of understood it to be Eight’s big, thicker, creamier sister. But one says Leave In and one says Conditioner. And whenever I see conditioner on it’s own, I think wash out but it’s definitely a leave in if you look at the usage info.

At first glance they look very similar and I thought I’d been stitched up and sent the same thing twice. But on closer inspection, not that much closer to be fair because I must have had my eyes shut the first time I looked, Ten is obviously thicker and creamier in colour. When you jiggle the jars slightly, Ten has very little movement. This looked like what my Type 4 hair needs.

I use the LCO method (Liquid, Cream, Oil) for moisture retention and was considering using Eight as the L and Ten as the C but I’m not sure it would have worked. But it would be cool if J + H specifically had a cream for those of us who use this method but perhaps their thinking is that their products are good enough to do both L & C with a sealing oil to finish.

I used water as my Liquid. That’s what I’ve traditionally done, although I’ve recently started experimenting with more lotion type ones, like the Mane Choice Tropical Moringa Leave In Conditioner. Basically I let my hair air dry slightly after washing out my DC. I wish I could’ve used more. It didn’t have the creamy texture I expected or the creamy texture it seems to have in pictures. Perhaps it felt a bit more like the consistency of a wash out conditioner. It definitely worked, my hair felt moisturised and perhaps I would’ve liked it more if I’d used more. Definitely peaks my interest in Ten Pro though.

I placed my hair into fairly thick twists, about 13 total and sealed my hair with Five.

The Verdict: I Came For Eight But I’m Leaving With Five And Nine

I actually gave Eight away to a friend before trying because if it’s the thinner version of Ten, it probably won’t work for me as Ten didn’t overly impress me. But I did like it. I feel I just need more – Ten Pro is on the cards, for sure. First though, I might start with a full size Ten because I can be a bit more liberal and not feel so constrained about how much I use. I possibly just needed better saturation/ more product.

However, I loved the oil. That pre poo was something else. I recently did a pre poo with Avocado and Coconut Oil and it did not even come close to how good Five made my hair feel. Soft, detangled, shiny, healthy looking. It’s a star product. Love, love, love 🥰🥰🥰

And Nine was so gentle but effective. It was a lovely washing experience, it was actually a product that I liked massaging into my scalp as I was free of the fear of tangles and knew my hair was getting clean. Off to my Holy Grail list with you!

And overall the wash day was a success. All the products definitely compliment each other and you can tell a lot of thought and DIY experimentation went into getting formulas that work, you’d have to, to have so few ingredients in each. Jim + Henry is such a gorgeous brand and even though I’m not in love with all the products, that’s just me and my hair.

I would highly recommend Five and Nine. Wow, wow, wow!!!

If they expand the brand, I look forward to more. And if they want to use my suggestion for Four, I’d be even happier! 😂

Let’s keep growing (and staying safe) together!

xx Lee xx

Let’s connect